The Wines of Gala: #2 Joy

Still not drinking any wine but learning from Salvador Dalí, who was not only a great artist he was a connoisseur of wine. He categorised the wines he drank into groupings associated with his emotions and his painting; here’s the second I’m featuring, “Wines of Joy!”

The Wines of Joy are simply listed as:

Beaujolais

Chinon

Bourgueil

Cotes du Rhone

Chianti

Valpolicella

Merlot of Ticino

Rioja

Muscadet

Swiss white wines

Portuguese Vinhos Verdes

But I want to add one more:

Picpoul de Pinet

“The Wines of Joy are linked together in a dance, they are wines to be drunk young, generally in the year following their birth. They mostly give usaromas,perfumes linked to the grape’s properties. Beaujolais tops the list offering an array of perfumes from the vegetable world, fruits and flowers too. Peaches, strawberries, apricots cherries, faded roses, iris, violets, all reaching our palate through the retro-nasal passages. Together with taste they compose a symphony of freshness and suppleness so typical of young wines.”

The cells in our sense organs become “excited” when we drink wine, and with these wines specifically the sensations lead to a perception of youth, freshness, newness and “joy” ….. to use this sensation in a metaphorical sense. I get this sensation personally when I drink Beaujolais, usually chilled on a warm summer’s day sitting in the garden admiring the colours of the sparkling mesembryanthemum in the sunlight. Typically the Brouilly appelation from Richard Rottiers being my favourite. Then there is the white Picpoul de Pinet, a crisp citrussy slightly acidic wine just made to be well chilled with a plate of seafood. My favourite being from Domaine Feline Jourdan. A pity it’s No Wine November!

Wines of Joy, Beaujolais and Picpoul de Pinet

So here’s a question: If we want to feel joyful or cheered up do we open a bottle of any of these wines and ….. are transformed? Or, is it the other way around such that if we are already feeling joyful should we open one of these bottles to reinforce our existing mood?

{This concept is taken from the book The Wines of Gala by Salvador Dali.}

The book is Salvador Dalí’s eccentric guide to wine grapes and their origin and isfilled with over 140 artworks and collages collected and created by Dalí himself.

In keeping with Dalí’s efforts to create artwork based on his emotions, memories, and dreams, the artist chose to organize the wines in the book by how they influenced his mood. The groupings are appropriately imaginative classifications including suchsection titles as “Wines of Frivolity,” “Wines of the Impossible,” and “Wines of Light.” A section in the book also outlines Dalí’s method of ordering wine by emotionalexperience, quoting the artist’s famous credo: “A real connoisseur does not drinkwine but tastes of its secrets.”

Doesn’t matter Buddy, we should only drink what we like and take no notice of anyone else. I’ve always been adventurous combining wine with travel and culture. Learned lots, made mistakes, found many I liked and made many winemaking friends. It’s not about the wine! 🙏🙏🍷

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